A Chance of a Lifetime
by Mat49324
Summary: Joint story with Umi Sagara. Takes place before Conan turns back into Jimmy. Hope you all enjoy. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

(Here's another story -- this time my first "Detective Conan" joint fic. Hope you all will enjoy this. It's from me and **Umi Sagara**.)

(From **Umi Sagara**)

Disclaimer: We only own our own characters, Umi and Mathew. :3 I, for one, find myself wishing I owned DC at times. Oh, and this seems to take place somewhere between Mathew first meeting up with Ran and Shinichi turning back into an adult. Maybe it's one of those behind-the-scenes happenings..?

(Shinichi/Jimmy's point of view)

I looked up at Kogoro inspecting the scene of a car. Ignorant as he was, he was actually getting some of the clues. I already had most of them, though. I looked back up at Ran.

_I'm gonna get a crick in my neck at this rate,_ I thought to myself.

I hated being in Conan's body. Ran looked down at me and smiled.

"What do you think, Conan?" She asked.

Without thinking, I looked back at the ground.

"Uncle missed a few clues, but I found that the person is left handed, but has a habit of doing everything with his right. Except for writing and throwing, stuff like that. The suspect is a male, about Uncle's size, and has dyed his hair..."

I caught what I was saying and bit my tongue.

"Or at least, that's what I think, but what does a kid like me know? Hahahaha..."

I could tell Ran didn't believe me. That's why I couldn't shoot that old man yet. Damn it. As trusting as Ran is, she kept suspecting him! I sighed and then looked up at the sound of a car door slamming followed by colorful words that probably wouldn't even make it to an R-rated fic or movie. I looked back at Ran and she looked at the newcomer as well. The newcomer was a girl with long, brown hair tied back in a loose, messy ponytail. She was wearing jeans and a black-and-white horizontal striped jacket. She looked up and jogged over. She held out her hand to Ran.

"Hey," she said.

"I'm Umi Sagara, incoming private detective from southern America. Just got a client asking to solve this case."

She then looked at me and rumpled my hair.

"Hey squirt."

(Umi's point of view)

After shooting off some rainbow-colored language, I had come over to introduce myself to the girl.. Apparently, her name was Ran Mouri. Okay... I looked back down at the kid.

_He looks kind of like my little brother, _I thought to myself, kind of shocked.

I crouched down and tilted my head. After a moment, I held out my hand.

"Hey," I said.

"who're you?"

He took my hand, but I think it was only out of politeness. I got the feeling he didn't like me much.

"Conan Edogawa," he replied.

I smiled.

"You play soccer," I said.

"or rather, you used to. It's very faint, but where the shin guards cut off and below is a bit lighter than the skin above, and that's hard to get rid of unless you either wear pants or shorts all the time."

I smiled at his suprised look.

"I only know because I used to play soccer, and sister and the younger of my two little brothers still play it."

I stood back up and looked at Ran.

"So, as I'm assuming you're not the detective, is it the guy who just stubbed his toe," I asked, pointing to an oldish man holding his foot and swearing.

_Then again,_ I thought.

_assuming makes an ass out of you and me._

If there was one thing I learned, it was that.

(Ran's point of view)

"Dad," I said as he walked over to us.

"are you okay?"

He nodded. Dad really needed some help with the case, and even though Umi might be good, I decided to try calling another friend of mine. He said he was really good and I believe him.

"I'm going to call Mathew," I said taking out my cell phone and waving to my dad, Conan, and Umi.

I walked over away from the group and dialed Mathew's cell phone. He answered on the third ring.

"Hello," I heard him say on the other phone.

"Hi," I said.

Before I could even say that it was me, I heard Mathew say, "Oh, Ran! What's up?"

"Ah, not much. Um.. My dad is on a case and someone just showed up," I said.

"Do you think you can help them out? Dad might need help," I finished.

There was a moment's pause on the other line. I was hoping Mathew would say okay.

"Alright, where are you?" I heard him ask.

"You know about the carjacking heist?" I asked.

(Mathew's point of view)

Ran asked me about the carjacking heist. I had some newspapers, but I didn't actually read them through that much. I glanced over at some more recent newspapers.

"Mathew..?" I heard Ran ask on the other line.

"Oh, right, um.. I think so," I said, seeing the article on yesterday's newspaper.

"Well, this morning the car was found abandoned a little bit into the forest that's close to Tropical Land," she said.

"That's where we are."

"I see," I said, nodding.

"Okay, Ran, I'll be right over."

I heard her say "Thanks" on the other line and hang up. I got what I would probably need and headed out the door.

(From **Mat49324**)

When I got there, I noticed Conan, Kogoro, Ran and another girl.

"You're that person Ran told me about over the phone no doubt," I said.

"Yep," The girl said to me.

"Name's Umi... Umi Sagara; like you, I'm a detective from the states as well -- the southern part."

"And I'm from the far West," I said.

"Plus I'm Mathew."

"Cool name," Umi commented.

"Thanks," I said.

"Now, what's the scoop, guys?"

(Go now. It's all you now. Hope you approve. Sorry if it's short. I'm going out to dinner tonight.)


	2. A Break From the Action

(Here's chapter 2. Thanks to **Animefangirl2007** and **The Time Traveler** for reviewing.)

Disclaimer: We only own our own characters, Umi and Mathew. :3 I, for one, find myself wishing I owned DC at times. Oh, and the plot is owned by us as well. But not the idea of U.N.Owen - that is owned by miss Agatha Christie.

(Umi's point of view)

I explained the situation as well as I could to Mathew, unconsciously watching closely for any sign of a reaction. With three siblings, that was the only way to get the truth out of them. However, after no unusual reaction, I wrapped up the story, Conan and Ran filling in the blanks, as Kogoro left to go back to investigate the van.

"Let me get this straight," he said.

"You called me here for a carjacking case?"

"Not me, Ran. But, yeah, pretty much," I said. Mathew looked at Ran and then smiled. They seemed to be pretty good friends to me.

"Hey Ran. Your dad having trouble?" he asked.

(Ran's point of view)

I nodded to Mathew's question.

"Yeah. I didn't know if Dad would be able to handle it."

I didn't want to insult Umi. She looked like she could easily handle anyone who gave her attitude. That, and I had just met her. I didn't want to insult anyone.

"Yeah, not to sound mean or insult your dad or anything, but I don't think your dad would be able to solve anything if the clues were right in front of his nose," Mathew said.

"Hey," Umi jumped in.

"who hired your dad? He's a private invesigator, isn't he?"

I nodded.

"Yeah. He was hired by some guy named Urireru Nate Owen, or something like that. I saw the name on an envelope as I was checking our mail the other day. Dad said this guy had big bucks for him if he solved it."

"Hm..." Umi looked thoughtful.

"I got a letter from Upton Nash Owen."

"Wow, what a coincidence," I said.

"Maybe both of them are related."

"I don't think so," Umi said.

"Put the initials together. U.N.Owen. Unowen. Or better yet, Unknown."

(Kogoro's point of view)

I couldn't find any clues. Damnit! Who was this cocky Owen bastard, anyways? I lit a cigaratte and inhaled. Looking at my watch, I discovered that it was past 18:00 (6 p.m.). As much as I wanted that money, it was getting cold, and I was getting hungry. Too bad that girl and Mathew just got here. They would be leaving. I called everyone together.

"Alright," I said.

"It's getting late, I'm getting cold, and I'm getting hungry. We're going home."

"And hey, what the heck? Let's go out to eat tonight. I'll treat you guys," I offered.

"After all, those free meal tickets Yoko gave me awhile back are going to expire soon. Besides, what do I have to worry about? I'll have fifty grand in no time!"

(From **Mat49324**)

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

"Fifty large?" I said, dropping my shoulders.

"Yeah," Kogoro spoke up.

"That's his salary he'll get if he solves the case," Ran added.

"By the way, did he say you all were going out to eat and he'd treat you?" Umi said.

"Does that include us?" I asked.

"Of course it does, Mathew," Ran said.

We both went with the three of them to a nearby restaurant where Kogoro used his free meal tickets that Yoko Okino gave him.

Right after we finished our food, the five of us couldn't eat one more nibble.

"Whew, I can't remember the last time I ate more than I could think," I said as we left.

"Yeah," Ran agreed.

"So, anyone for a dip at the hot springs to soothe our stomachs?"

"I'm up for that," I spoke up.

"Besides, my stomach's a little bit sore anyway."

**(Umi's Part)**

(Umi's point of view)

"Nah," I said.

"I think I'll pass."

I was a little self conscious about my body. Why else would someone wear a jacket in almost any weather? But, being filled with as much pride as I was, I used the case as an excuse.

"I'll look up some information on the internet, see if I can find any clues."

_What would I look up, though,_ I thought to myself.

_Well, I'll figure it out._

I saw Conan look at me with a **you're-not-fooling-anyone** kind of look. In response, I looked at him with the same look I would reprimand my younger siblings with. He looked away.

_Kids,_ I thought.

_one, they need to act like kids. Two, who would want to have one anyways?_

(Shinichi/Conan's point of view)

I found it hard to believe that Umi would look up this kind of case when there was an opportunity to do something else. If you asked me, it looked like she was a procrastinator.

(Ran's point of view)

"Really," I asked Umi.

I found this suprising, as everyone else I knew liked to swim. Shinichi, Sonoko (Serena), Mathew, Conan, and I all liked it.

"Why don't you tell us the real reason you're not coming," Mathew asked. I looked at him, confused.

(Mathew's point of view)

Normally, I wasn't the type of guy to pry into a girl's life. But when someone was so obviously lying, I had to know why. It roused the natural curiousity in me.

Umi sighed. "Look, it's my own business. I am going to go back to my living arrangement and stay there and probably see y'all tommorow."

Good enough for me.

"Hey," Ran said.

"Conan and I should get back and change. We'll meet you outside in ten minutes, Mathew."

I nodded.

"Okay," I said.

My apartment and Kogoro's detective agency/house weren't very far from here.

(**Mat49324**'s part)

Ran and Conan went to get their bathing suits and I went to get my shorts. When we all met up, Ran had her one-piece red bathing suit draped around her left shoulder, Conan had his orange swimshorts draped around his right shoulder, and I held my blue and black swimshorts in my left hand.

"It's too bad that Umi didn't want to come," Ran said, looking a little dejected.

"Yeah, but it's her decision anyway, so I'm not complaining, Ran," I said.

"Yeah, you're right, Mathew," Ran said, agreeing with me.

"So, should we go?" I asked the two of them.

"Yeah, let's hit it," Ran said, looking excited.

The three of us started walking to the nearest hot springs.

"I'd like to know the real reason why Umi decided not to join us," Ran said.

"Me too," I said.

"But, sometimes, Ran, some things are better left not to know."

"You're probably right," Ran said.

A half-hour later, we reached one of Beika's hot springs.

(**Umi's Part**)

(Ran's point of view)

"We should change now. The boys' changing rooms are over there," I said, pointing.

I pointed in the opposite direction.

"The girls' are over here. I'll be out in a few," I said. We parted ways waving.

Mathew and Conan went to the boys side and I went to the girls and changed. When I came out, they were waiting for me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said.

"how long were you two waiting?"

(Conan's point of view)

"Not that long," I heard Mathew say. Actually, we got here a minute ago, and if someone was impatient, it would be considered long. Good thing we weren't. I looked up at Ran.

"Well, let's go," she said.

Ran held her hand out to me and I took it, and she held her arm out to Mathew and he took it. We began to sit in the water, enjoying it.

(Ran's point of view)

"It feels good to be out here," I said, smiling, dangling my feet in the water. It was a nice change of pace.

"Mm-hmm," I heard Mathew agree. I looked at him and he smiled.

I jumped in the water and swam to the surface, splashing Mathew.

"Aren't you coming in," I asked.

Conan had been in for some time, but wasn't really swimming swimming. More along the lines of.. staring into space. Mathew jumped in and splashed me back, smiling.

"Look at Conan," I said.

"Yeah, it looks like the kid doesn't know how to swim." Mathew said.

"We should go and help him," I said.

(Conan's point of view)

_Let's see... There was a sighting of the van near a hotel. Wasn't it the hotel where mom and dad suprised me with their elaborate getups? Yeah, it was. The witness didn't have an accurate description of the man, however, because of the tinted windows and the glare of the light._

I was thinking about the hijacked van. What was carried in it..?! I felt a presence and turned around to see Ran and Mathew suddenly stop right in front of my face.

"Gah!" I heard myself yell.

"I thought you were going to run into me," I said to Ran and Mathew.

"Sorry, Conan. I didn't mean to go that fast," Ran said.

I looked at Mathew and he shrugged.

"I didn't even know I _could_ go that fast," he said.

"Oh, okay," I replied to them.

"What's up, Conan? You don't seem energetic at all," Ran asked, looking concerned.

I tried to laugh but it came out nervous to anyone who listened well.

"Y-yeah. I guess that the food-digesting system is wearing me out," I said.

We were supposed to learn that around first grade, weren't we? Or something like that. I think.

"Do you want to go home?" Ran asked gently.

The underlaying tone of her voice said she didn't want to go yet. So I shook my head.

"No thanks. It's fun swimming with big sister and big brother," I said in my childish voice, ducking underwater.

"Okay, I'm making a small history note," I heard Mathew say to Ran.

"That's the first time someone has ever called me 'big brother' in my entire life."

(Ran's point of view)

"You're kidding, right?" I asked.

"Nope," Mathew responded.

We swam for awhile and then left to go back home after changing. My wet swimsuit was now wrapped in a towel that I was holding. Before we parted ways, Mathew had something to say.

"Hey, Ran," he said.

"how about we do this again tommorow?"

I nodded and smiled.

"That would be great."

(Okay, that's gonna wrap it up. Hope you all leave a lot of reviews. We'd greatly appreciate it if we got at least 5.)


	3. The Case Day Two

Thanks to everyone for reviewing :D

Disclaimer: The characters of Detective Conan do not belong do us, nor does U.N. Owen. Well, the idea anyways.

(**Umi's Part**)

(Ran's point of view)

After going back inside, I took a quick shower and then let Conan take his own shower. I changed and passed by dad's office and saw that he had fallen asleep, multitudes of beer cans on his desk and around it. I was going to go get something to make for breakfast tommorow, since we were nearly out of food. But, that would have to wait until I cleaned up after dad.

As I neared him, despite the t.v. blaring in his face, he was jotting down notes on the case. I picked up the pad of paper he had written them down on and read silently.

"Found at: Kinuta Park; Owner of vehicle: Aki Tomura."

By "Owner of vehicle," there were lots of arrows drawn to names of people with annotations such as (wife) or (boss). I continued down the semi-list.

"Sightings: Beika hotel; Suspects: No solid suspects yet."

I looked at my dad. Was he, for once, trying? I smiled. I had faith in my dad. I hurriedly finished cleaning and rushed to the store before it closed.

(Conan's point of view)

After getting out of the shower, I changed and went looking for Ran. I couldn't find her. She was probably at the store. I sighed and went to my bed, where I sat with a notebook and pen, drawing figures and writing possibilities until I heard the door shut. Ran was back. I quickly put the pen and notebook under my mat and faked being asleep.

Ran came in.

"Conan," she asked softly.

I didn't reply. She left and I slept. Maybe the answer would come in my dreams.

(Ran's point of view)

I put everything up and went to bed. I had trust in my dad. Somehow or another, he always solved the case. Maybe Shinichi would come back. He would probably know what to do and have it solved very quickly. He was always like that. So was Mathew, now that I thought about it. Mathew was the detective of his state, so he could solve it almost as quick as Shinichi.

I smiled and drifted off to sleep, thinking of my friends until sleep set in.

(Mathew's point of view)

I took a shower and changed the moment I got home. Now, I was doing a bit of research on the carjacking.

_Carjacking, _I thought while reading it.

more like auto theft if you ask me.

The man wasn't really in the car when it was taken. Some egotistical maniac just hotwired it and booked it. I wonder where they went. And what their purpose was. I sighed and leaned back. I should get some sleep. I had a good, long day, and the next one would probably be just as long. I folded the book I had on carjacking, put down the newspaper I was reading, and went to my bed, where I fell asleep at 11:35.

(Umi's point of view)

Beeping... Beeping.. What is that infernal beeping noise? I picked my head up to glance at the computer screen. It was five A.M., and apparently I had fallen asleep there. The computer was telling me I had all these nice little pop-ups now, due to my head inconveniently falling on the enter button for.. what, four hours? Now, it was going to shut down.

I stood up and stretched. Great. I finally exhuast myself to sleep and only four hours later, I'm woken up by my computer saying "Hi. How are you, you great gazint? You just screwed up your computer! Congratulations!"

I sighed. Everyone was probably asleep right now, so I couldn't very well call and ask if they had thought of anything. I would try backtracking to where the van was reportedly stolen and go from there. I looked at the time again. 5:02. Well, maybe a little more sleep couldn't kill me... I laid down in my bed and closed my eyes.

(**Mat49324**'s part)

When the morning daylight came around, Umi and I met up with Ran, Conan, and Kogoro at his detective agency.

"So, did anybody find out something?" Umi asked.

"Why don't we start with you two," Ran said.

"I haven't got the slightest clue -- and I spent most of the night looking for something. The only thing I _could_ find was that this carjacking case is more like an auto theft," I pointed out.

"No one was in the car when it was taken -- meaning it was probably hotwired and booked by someone or somebodies."

"Umi, what about you?" Conan asked.

"Nothing much," Umi responded.

"My computer got screwed so I thought I might go to you guys for something."

"I know something about this carjacking case!" Kogoro said.

"Amaze us, Detective," Umi said.

"The car was found at Kinuta Park, the owner of the vehicle is Aki Tomura, the only sighting is at the Beika Hotel, and we have no solid suspects... yet," Kogoro said.

"Then, let's hit the Beika Hotel!!" Conan protested.

The five of us got on a bus and headed there. Umi sat next to Kogoro, while Ran, Conan and I sat one row in back of them. I was sitting next to Ran, with Conan sitting on my lap. I wanted to ask Ran something.

"Say, Ran," I said to her.

"You know, about last night when we were at the hot springs, and I asked you if you wanted to do the same thing with me today?"

"Yeah, why?" Ran asked me.

"Listen, I was wondering," I said.

"If it's okay with you, would you mind if it was just you and me?"

"Like... a date or something?" Ran asked me, dropping her jaw.

"Yeah, kind of," I answered.

"But, basically, just as a friendly get-together?"

"Sure, why not?" Ran said to me, smiling.

(**Umi's Part**)

(Conan/Shinichi's point of view)

_Only two people -- a friendly get-together?_ I thought to myself.

I didn't like the idea of Ran being alone with anyone. Okay, Mathew was fine, since I knew they were just friends.. Nonetheless, I clung to Ran.

"I wanna go with big sister!" I said.

This tactic normally worked.

"Oh, look at that, he must be jealous of you," Ran said to him.

Jealous? I'm not jealous. Okay, well, maybe a little bit. But besides, that's the point.

"Hey, little guy, Ran and I are going to go swimming later on, and we already promised that it'd be just us. Maybe next time, okay?" Mathew said to me.

"Okay." I nodded.

Now that I thought about it, why _did_ I want to go? There was a case to be solved, for crying out loud.. Speaking of which.. I listened into Umi and Kogoro's point of view while Mathew and Ran talked about later on and the pool.

"-How could you have not checked the length of the seat?" Umi sounded exasperated.

"I was busy-" Kogoro started to say.

"-doing what? Planning what you would do with 50 grand? Or daydreaming of Miss Yoko?" Umi cut in.

"Neither! I was examining the tires." Kogoro proclaimed.

"What did you find out about them?" Umi asked.

"It had some sort of gel-like substance on the inside to keep it from deflating.." Kogoro answered.

"You cut it open?" Umi sounded shocked.

Of course, you weren't supposed to mess with any evidence.

"No, it was shot at." Kogoro explained, sounding defensive.

"Do you have the bullets?" Umi said.

".. um..." Kogoro stammered.

He didn't have it.

"How about the length of the puncture?" Umi added.

".. uh..." Kogoro stammered again.

He didn't have that one either. Umi sighed aggrivated again.

"Fine, what's the diameter of the actual tire?" She snapped again.

"Well, it was a Cooper Discoverer AST II..." Kogoro said, trying to refresh his memory.

"Great, you don't have it! At least you have the make. What year was the van?" Umi asked again.

"2000." Kogoro responded.

"Kinda old; Were the tires new?" Umi said.

"According to the owner, they were about a year and a half old. He was thinking about getting them replaced." Kogoro answered.

"Okay, and the actual tires were..." Umi asked, waiting for him to finish her questioning sentence.

"Fairly new. I would say they had been used for about a few days." Kogoro said.

"Great! Now, after this, we are headed off to the scene and, as my grandpa would put it, 'I'll learn ya how to do it.'"

I wrote down the information I had learned in my little sketchbook and peered over their shoulders to see Umi was now making lists and writing down information. I sat back down and thought about the case myself.

_What business could that person want at the Beika hotel?_ I thought.

This question bothered me the most. Why would someone who stole a cargo van go to the Beika hotel, where there would be a high chance of witnesses? And why would someone even own a cargo van, unless it was for business? I sat back in my seat and thought hard about the possibilities.

(Ran's point of view)

"Maybe after the swim, the two of us could go see a movie or something," I suggested.

It had been awhile since I had seen a movie. Normally, I just had other things to do. Say, clean up after dad, make meals for him and Conan, homework, and karate. Oh, that's right.. Who would cook tonight? I had forgotten to make them something..

"Dad," I said.

"Hm?" He turned around.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"but do you think you and Conan can find something else to eat tonight? Maybe order pizza..."

"Ran, I don't have anymore tickets to resturants. Maybe I'll try cooking.." he said.

(Conan's point of view)

... Kogoro.. Cooking... my mind couldn't put Kogoro in a kitchen. Last time he was on Yoko's 5-minute cooking show, his noodles weren't very good, according to him. And that was with help from a good cook, too. I looked at Kogoro's expression. He was serious about this.

"I could cook something, maybe-"

"No!" I said without thinking.

Ran, Mathew, Kogoro, and Umi looked at me.

"Um, I mean.. Uncle's choice in food isn't good for a growing boy like me," I said in a childish voice.

Umi looked at Ran and Mathew.

"I can cook for them tonight," she said.

"Just have fun and don't expect me to stick around them for very long," she finished.

Ran looked grateful.

"Thank you," she said.

"I'll pay you back for the trouble."

"It's no big deal," she said, sitting back in her seat.

As long as she could cook better than Kogoro, I didn't care. Okay, so as long as she also didn't cook a few foods that I wasn't very fond of, either... Before I knew it, the bus ride was over, and we were all getting off.

(Okay, that's gonna do it. We hope you enjoyed this. We'll try to update whenever we can. And be sure to check out "Jimmy and Rachel Together" whenever you readers can.)


	4. Looking for the Cargo Van

Thanks to everyone for reviewing :D

Disclaimer: The characters of Detective Conan do not belong do us, nor does U.N. Owen. Well, the idea anyways.  
note from Umi: There are a few spoofs in here. Can you guess who they are and where they're from?

(**Mat49324**'s part)

When we got off the bus, we walked to the entrance of the Beika Hotel.

"So, where do we start, guys?" Ran asked us.

"We start by finding that cargo van was," Kogoro responded.

"Then it should be in the parking lot," I assumed.

"Where is it?" Umi asked.

"I should know this," Kogoro said.

"Follow me, kids."

Ran, Conan, Umi and I followed Kogoro to the parking lot. While we were running, I leaned over to ask Ran something.

"Hey, would you mind if we went back to the hot springs after we see the movie you wanted to see, Ran?" I asked her.

"No, not at all," Ran said, smiling at me.

"Then, maybe afterwards, I'll think about spending a little time at your apartment with you."

"Sure, why not," I agreed.

(Conan's point of view)

_I wonder if all they have to talk about is that date they're having?_ I thought.

(**Umi's Part**)

I looked around where the vehicle was parked. By now, there were so many vehicles that had passed and parked in that spot, it would probably be hard to get anything in way of information here. But, don't knock it 'till you try it. We went over there in a group and immediately, the detectives.. well.. pretty much everyone but Ran and I looked down at the ground.

Umi whipped out a magnifying glass from her.. pocket and studied the different tracks. Mathew took out one from the evidence kit he had been carrying to study the tracks. Even Kogoro had a magnifying glass. I'm assuming he took his from an evidence kit as well. As much as I wanted to go over there, I had to stay with Ran. Besides, Kogoro would just hit me and tell me to scat anyways.

"You think they're getting anywhere," Ran asked me.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Maybe. They're good, from what I've seen," I replied.

We watched them. Umi stood up first.

"Well," she announced.

"most of these tracks were actually made by cars, or at least tires made for cars. However, only one of them is the one we're looking for, IF the UNSUB changed the tires already. If not, then we'll have to get the make etc. etc. from the owner of the van."

Kogoro looked at her with a perplexed look.

"How do you know that?"

"When living with two car-crazed siblings, and one vehicle-obsessed dad, I'm bound to pick up a few tips and tricks here and there."

"Oh." Kogoro simply said.

That made sense to me. We would have to start looking for a witness. Maybe they caught the perpetrator on a camera, or maybe someone who worked here had photographic memory. I should bring this to their attention.

"Hey, shouldn't we look for a witness?"

"Ah, that's right," Kogoro said.

He started giving everyone orders.

"Ran and Conan, you two ask the busboys out here. Mathew, you can check the janitors. I'll check the rest of the workers. And Umi.. You can.. uh.. Check the visitors. Everyone, call if you hear anything. Does everyone have each other's cell phone numbers?"

"No one should have mine, and I don't have anyone's," Umi said.

"Well, you can just page the front desk."

"Dad!" Ran said.

I did notice that unless the person was Yoko Okino, sometimes Eri, Ran, or someone famous/rich, the old man didn't seem to care for them much.

"Here's a list of our numbers," Ran said, handing Umi a piece of paper.

Umi thanked her and gave her her number.

"Now, everyone, split up," Kogoro demanded.

(Umi's point of view)

Wow. Six whole numbers in my address book in my phone. Conan, Ran, Mathew, Kogoro, my cell phone, and my home phone. Since I seemed to forget those two a lot. I sighed and decided to start in the lobby. In the lobby, there were people coming and going and just lounging around. I sighed and started asking people who were on their way out.

(Conan's point of view)

Ran and I were just outside the doors of Beika Hotel. We looked around for a few minutes and I was satisfied with what I had gathered. I looked at Ran and she looked back down at me.

"Ready, Conan?" She said to me, looking serious.

"Yeah," I said.

We headed off to the guys in red, who were waiting to take someone's bag. I got out my notebook and pencil and started asking questions.

"Um.. Were you here when a big white van showed up a few days ago?" I asked.

"No, I was just hired. Today is my first day." The guy in red said to us.

I frowned and faintly heard Ran tell me to apologize for being rude.

"Sorry," I mumbled, and walked off towards the other busboys.

It was the first day for all six of them. I frowned and looked at Ran, who kept telling me to apologize, and then apologizing to the busboy herself. I didn't get it.. Why was it the first day on the job for every one of them? I ran inside and asked the desk lady if there were any busboys who weren't hired just today. She looked slightly puzzled and picked up the phone. Ran came over and shook her head.

"I just talked with Umi. She has nothing." She said, looking bummed.

The desk lady finally looked back at me.

"The manager is busy and can't talk to anyone," she said in a bored tone of voice.

"How long have you worked here," I asked.

"Today's my first day," she said.

You had to be kidding me! Why were all of these guys new employees? I flipped open my phone and gave Kogoro a call.

(Kogoro's point of view)

After finding several workers, none of them had squat. The most one of them probably had was a piece of string and a contract starting today.

"Pip pip pip!" It said.

What the hell? I looked down at the originating source: my phone. Who the hell changed my ringtone? I glared at it and answered it.

"Hello? Oh, it's just you." I said when I found out it was Conan.

"Uncle, all of the busboys just started today. I asked the desk lady and she didn't have much in the way of information: she just started as well."

"Today must be new-employee day or something. None of the damn workers have been here for more than twenty four hours! There's something fishy going on."

(**Mat49324**'s part)

(Ran's P.O.V.)

I called Mathew on his cell. Apparently he too had the same story, but there was one thing he included that might be a clue.

"Meet us in the lobby and tell us, I think Dad should hear this too," I said to him.

We hung up and met up with the rest of the group. Then, Mathew gave us the scoop.

"Well, there were about 17 janitors, and 16 of them were first-day employees," Mathew told us.

"What about the other janitor?" Kogoro said.

"He said he'd been working there for... get this... 32 years," Mathew said with shock in his voice.

(Conan/Shinichi's P.O.V.)

_So, there's one janitor who's been working at the Beika Hotel for 32 years like Mathew said,_ I thought.

_Why would there only be one veteran worker? The 32 year janitor must be linked to this -- I'm sure of it._

"Anything else, Mathew?" I asked.

"Not really," Mathew responded.

"Well, we're not really getting anywhere," Ran said to us.

"I hate to admit it, Ran," Umi said.

"But you might be right."

"We can't give up now, ladies," Mathew said to the girls.

"We've gotta keep our heads up and our optimism, too."

I knew Mathew was right. Even if it was only the first time I heard that from him, I instantly referred him as our inspiration for not giving up.

End of chapter.

(Okay, that's going to wrap up another one.)


	5. Are We Getting Anywhere?

Thanks for reviewing everyone!

Disclaimer: We do not own the Detective Conan characters

(**Umi's Part**)

(Conan's Point of view)

I wrote down the information down in my miniature notebook. No one seemed to be related to the hotel except for the janitor. 32 years.. What could it mean? Was the janitor really the hotel owner posing as a janitor? I had to read a story where a rich owner of a chain of hotels slipped down to one in.. What was that American state? Mississippi? Florida? Louisiana? Eh, it had something to do with swamps. Anyways, he decided to apply for a job using one of his son's friend's names there. He got on as a busboy. End of story.

"Conan, what are you doing?" Ran asked, looking down at what I had written.

It was only a diagram of who I knew we interviewed and how long they had worked there.

"Ah, nothing," I said nervously.

"Oh, you're trying to work on the case, too? I'm impressed." She said, smiling a big sister type smile at me.

"Ah, well, I'm trying to be like Uncle," I said, pointing to Kogoro.

"We're discussing the janitor as well, if you'd like to join in," Mathew pitched in.

"Ah, sure," I replied.

(Umi's point of view)

"Okay, so option A is that this guy is the owner. Possible, yes. Plausible...? Well, some research will have to be done on this guy. We need his name. Shouldn't be hard to finid with the trusty internet. Option B is that the owner keeps veterans on as lower-type jobs, and has them switch out every day, while everyone else is a-pardon my internet lingo-noob. Possible? Yes. Plausible? Probably not. We'll have to come back every day for a few days to check it out." I explained.

I was on a roll with one of my lists and rants. I pity the idiot who tries to stop me.

"Hang on," Kogoro said.

"not that your theories aren't helping, but.. Who elected you president?"

... Ding ding ding, we have our winner, folks!

I looked at him and said, "Look, if ya got somethin' to say about the case, then let it be said! Otherwise, is there anything better to do with this hotel part of the mystery other than listen to my so-called 'theories'?"

"Er.. no." He said.

"Didn't think so. Either way, now that I've cooled my head, who has suggestions?" I asked.

(Ran's point of view)

Umi seemed aggressive at the moment. I looked at Mathew. He was awfully quiet.

"You okay?" I went over and asked him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just thinking.. Maybe if we split up, we could cover more ground quickly," he said.

"It could be you, me, and your dad.."

Mathew looked over at my dad with a raised eyebrow.

"Sometimes, I think he needs help. Anyways, and it could be Umi and Conan. One of us could search the hotel, and the other, the van. We trade each day and keep track of what we found out. It just seems easier that way," he said.

I smiled at him. He had put quite a bit of thought into this.

"Yeah, and we could also draw straws or pick numbers and switch partners, too," I added. Mathew nodded.

"Yeah, now all we gotta do is tell them about it," he said in agreement. It was silent either way, so I brought up the splitting up subject.

Dad and Conan approved. Umi looked at Conan and then back at us. She sighed and agreed.

"Okay, we start tommorow, then," I said.

"Be sure to rest up tonight! We'll meet in front of dad's office."

(**Mat49324**'s part)

"Agreed," I said.

Now that I thought about it, Ran was right -- it was almost midnight. Umi, Kogoro, and the rest of us jumped on a bus and rode with each other back to our homes. Ran and I moved our date from tonight to possibly tomorrow or until we finish the case.

"So, Ran," I said to her.

"Are you excited about our date coming up after this case is all said and done?"

"For sure, I can't wait," Ran said to me, smiling.

"But we gotta focus on this case before we can even think about our date."

"I know, don't worry, I keep my mind focused on the case even if I bring up our date," I said to her.

(Conan's/Shinichi's P.O.V.)

_There those two go, talking about that date again,_ I thought.

"Why do you guys always talk about that date that you're having?" I asked in my childish voice.

"Conan, when you get to be a teen, you'll talk about dates with girls a lot yourself," Ran answered to me.

I knew she knew I was really Jimmy. It didn't feel good to be stuck as a kid for so long and living with Ran... sometimes there were good moments, but most of the time, they were bad ones.

(Ran's P.O.V.)

"Say, Mathew," I said to him.

"Are you gonna do the same things with Sonoko like how you're doing with me?"

"For sure, Ran," Mathew responded.

(**Umi's Part**)

(still Ran's point of view)

I nodded and smiled. It was nice how Mathew spent time with me, but I knew he and Sonoko needed some time of their own together. After all, Sonoko might get jealous if Mathew started to hang out with me a lot more than her.

(Umi's point of view)

I turned around to face everyone.

"Okay, one, which group is going to start off with the van and the hotel?" I asked.

"You and Conan can take the van tommorow," Mathew said.

I nodded.

"M'kay. In that case, we're going to have four short straws and four long straws. That way, at least one person switches to something else. Short will be van, long will be hotel. How does that sound?" I explained.

They nodded in agreement. I turned back around and stared vacantly at the passing signs, thinking about the case.

(Conan's point of view)

The bus let us off first, so Ran, Kogoro, and I went inside. Of course, this was after Mathew and Ran said goodbye to each other and went across the street. Ran prepared supper a little late though, and Kogoro went to watching Yoko Okino tapes. Doesn't that ever get old? Well, I went to my room and sat down on the floor, thinking about the case.

_One old man.. What symbolism does that have? Beika Hotels is a generic name.. How many others are there? Is it the same situation there, as well?_ I thought as I wrote down a note in my notebook to check out Beika Hotels in Tokyo.

I frowned. This was a bit harder than murder cases. At least with those, there is usually a set suspect or amount of suspects. Here, the suspects were just about anyone near the park when the van was hijacked... Wait a minute.. Why didn't anyone mention it before? Were we all so busy that we overlooked it? Did someone mention it and I just wasn't paying attention?

"Conan! Supper's ready!" Ran called.

Her voice snapped me out of my thought process.

"Ah, coming!" I replied, standing up.

I quickly wrote down the park in my notebook and went downstairs.

"Finally, what kept you," was Kogoro's way of greeting me.

_Must be a commercial break_, I thought. We ate the rice in silence, each of us keeping our thoughts to ourselves. Afterwards, I went back upstairs to go to sleep, Ran cleaned the dishes, and Kogoro watched more T.V. I'd have to bring up the thing with the park tomorrow.. I wonder who else noticed..?

(Ran's point of view)

After sending Conan off to bed, I picked up the dishes and started cleaning them. I wished Shinichi would call. He'd normally call by now.. I missed him. Not that I'm not glad to have Mathew as a friend, it's just.. He and Shinichi aren't the same. Shinichi had this.. cocky attitude and could solve a case no matter what, while Mathew had a way of taking them on slowly, and then solving them in the same amount of time as Shinichi.

_Shinichi,_ I thought.

_I wish you were here right now.. You could definitely solve it._

I looked at the clock. It was almost one in the morning, and the T.V. was still blaring. I peered out at dad, who had fallen asleep at his desk watching T.V. After turning the faucet off and drying my hands, I went over to him and turned the T.V. off.

"Night, dad," I said quietly, going up to my room.

I made one last check on Conan. The lights were out, but that didn't necessarily mean he was asleep. I opened the door and saw him fast asleep.

"Night, Conan," I said quietly.

I went back up to my room and went to sleep.

(Umi's point of view)

I was dropped off quite a bit after everyone else. I unlocked the door and emptied my pockets onto my bed. I picked up the notebook and skimmed through it. A story I started last year in first hour, another one I had the middle, but not the beginning or end for that I started in fifth hour.

"Ah, here we go," I said, finding the section in which I wrote down information regarding the case.

I yawned but still looked at it.

"Hm.. Let's backtrack it's course that we know. Van found in woods. Engine running? I forgot to ask. Amount of gas left? Unknown. Van sighted at Beika Hotel, where something wierd was going on. All employees were new, except for one janitor. Must inspect janitor later. Van was hotwired from the park... The park.. Aren't there cameras nearby? They probably caught the culprit. What else was there? Not much.. Maybe some kids were playing.. I'd have to check the time the van was stolen.." I read.

I yawned again. I was tired, but it didn't matter. Being tired just meant it was harder for me to actually sleep. Usually. I looked over at my broken computer. Well, there went my means for telling time. I had to get a clock.

"Wonder if anyone else's awake.. Maybe we can talk about the case." I said to myself.

I dialed everyone's cell phones, but no one answered. I sighed and put my own phone down. Now that my computer's down and the library is closed, I couldn't do anything but try to do complicated algebra or calculus problems instead of simple two-plus-two to link clues together. I couldn't do it. I laid down, closed my eyes, and tried to sleep.

End of chapter.

(Okay, yet another chapter wrapped up. Hope I'll get a hell of a lot more reviews for this story and "The Murder in the Ocean." I need reviews because they strive me to keep going forward. So, leave a lot, and hopefully **Detective Conan Addict** will review my stories again.)


	6. Day 3 of The Case

Thanks for reviewing everyone! Sorry about the long wait - Umi had a lot of excuses for this one.

Disclaimer: We do not own the characters of Detective Conan.

(**Mat49324**'s part)

I knew we had to meet up at Kogoro's Detective Agency for the 2nd day in a row. So, I got out of bed early, washed my face, put on the old theme song from the American TV show, "Animaniacs" on a video game I kept from 1994, and got to work again. Music really got me going in the right direction, especially on cases back in the states.

"Hopefully everyone else is getting somewhere," I said to myself.

Sometimes I thought about my date with Ran at the hot springs and at the movies, but I only thought about that once. The case always came first, and my date with her always came second. After about an hour of browsing online, through books and newspapers, I changed clothes and decided to meet up with the rest of them to see if they had anything.

(Ran's P.O.V.)

I woke up from my deep slumber and went to the bathroom to wash my face. I went to the kitchen to make breakfast for both Dad and Conan when I heard a knock at the door.

"Could that be Mathew already?" I asked myself as I left the kitchen to answer the door.

I opened the door and I was right -- Mathew was standing outside the door.

"Mathew, you're early," I said as I let him in.

"Thought I might see if you guys got anything, but I guess you guys just got up," Mathew assumed.

"Yeah, myself at least," I said.

(**Umi's Part**)

(still Ran's point of view)

"I have to go wake Conan and dad up. Can you wait a second?" I asked my best friend.

"Sure," Mathew said.

"Thanks." I said.

I went upstairs and woke them both up. I had to wake Conan up three times more than Dad. He really didn't like waking up. I went back downstairs and talked to Mathew. We talked as we walked into the kitchen and I cooked breakfast.

"Oh, Mathew," I said.

"Would you like some breakfast?" I asked cheerfully.

"Sure," Mathew said.

Conan and Dad finally came downstairs like two zombies from a b-grade horror movie. I almost laughed as they sat down at the table and used that as their pillow.

"Conan, Dad," I said.

"Breakfast's ready."

I put out four plates with food on them. Conan and Dad lifted their heads to eat. After an extremely boring and extremely uneventful breakfast, we went outside, where Umi was waiting.

"Oh, come on! Can't I ever be on time? Not early, not late, just on time," Umi said.

"No, you're not early. We're just late," I said.

".. Oh. Well.. okay then." Umi stammered.

(Mathew's point of view)

"So, do you two have anything going on with the van?" I asked Umi and Conan.

They grinned and held up their notebooks. Okay, Conan's, I could understand. His was actually a pocket notebook. But Umi's was a full-sized notebook. How did she fit that in her pocket without folding it?

(Quick A/N: It's true. o.o I can put a dictionary, as well as several various items in my pocket at once.)

Conan opened his notebook first.

"After a completely personality change, Umi started talking with the security guard and got us into the monitor room. The security guard's name is Makoto Tominaga." Conan explained.

"Just so you know," Umi cut in.

"I looked it up when we got back, and Makoto's name means 'trustworthy'. I know it means nothing, but I'm just saying.."

She left her sentence hanging and Conan continued.

"He once played tennis, knows a little bit about cars, but not much, and types a lot, meaning there's a good chance he played the piano at one point in his life." Conan continued.

"The guy who took the van had jet-black hair, was wearing sunglasses, a vest, and some of those casual gloves. His shoes were loafers," Umi pointed out.

"He has dug several holes recently. Now, your turn," she said to us.

(Conan's/Shinichi's point of view)

Right after Umi and I heard Ran, Kogoro and Mathew say their things, we left Kogoro's detective agency to a nearby bus stop.

"So, Umi, you and Conan take the bus; Dad, Mathew, and I will take the hotel. Good luck," Ran said, waving to Umi and I as they boarded a bus two minutes later.

We would have to wait another ten before ours arrived. Now was probably the time I should use to mention the park..

"Hey, Conan," Umi said, looking off into the distance.

"do you think that the park would have survelliance cameras?"

"Eh? Probably," I said.

Maybe she _did_ think of that.

"Would you mind if we took a side trip to the Kinuta Park?" Umi asked me.

"Sure," I said.

I didn't even need to look in my notebook. I knew Kinuta Park was the place where the van was stolen. As for Aki Tomura, we should probably pay him a visit.

"Hey, Umi, maybe we should visit the owner of the van. He might have something to do with it." I said.

"Never rule out any possibilities. We can look in the phone book when we get there." Umi said, agreeing with me.

The bus arrived and we got on.

(Kogoro's point of view)

I yawned, looking out the window. How much longer until we were at Beika hotel? I sighed and looked at my watch. 6 a.m. was definitely too early to be working on a case. Not only that, but I was the only one with enough experience to deduce anything. That Shinichi kid had just gotten lucky those past few times. Besides, I don't see him around anymore.

I looked back at Ran and Mathew. They were talking. Ran looked out the window from time to time and Mathew had out a miniature notebook. Probably insignificant notes about the case, compared to my notebook. I took it out and flipped through it. There were notes from past cases, and a lot from this one. I put it back in my pocket. Not much to write in it right now, anyways.

(**Mat49324**'s part)

(still Kogoro's P.O.V.)

"We still going on that date we promised, Ran?" Mathew asked my daughter.

"Date?" I said, shocked.

"So, _that's_ why Umi is going to cook for Conan and me the night we finish this case!"

"Dad, don't go nuts," Ran said to me.

"Nuts?" I said, outraged.

"He's another guy like Shinichi, trying to steal you away and my cases!"

"Dad, stop this," Ran said to me.

"He likes hanging out with me, and besides, Mathew and Shinichi may be detectives, but they're very different in their personalities. Mathew's sweet and likes everything about me; Shinichi's just a cocky guy, and a Holmes freak."

(Ran's P.O.V.)

"Not to mention that she likes hanging out with me as well," Mathew added.

"Mm-hmm," I implied.

"We're going swimming later tonight or the night we get this case over and done with, then we're seeing a movie."

Dad crossed his arms and frowned. I think he thought that Mathew was bad news to me.

"I know what you're thinking, Dad," I said, irritated.

"And I'm still going out with Mathew, no matter how much you don't want me to."

I had to focus my mind back on the case.

_I wonder if Conan and Umi have got something yet?_ I thought as we got off the bus at our stop.

End of chapter.

(Well, after a long wait from Umi, I finally finished this chapter. Now, be sure to leave a lot of reviews for this story, as well as my other ones that I will update right now.)


	7. After the Bus Rides

Disclaimer: If you didn't read the disclaimers by this chapter, why would you start now?

(**Umi's Part)**

(Ran's point of view)

After getting off the bus, we decided to check out the employees first. Again, I was to check if the old janitor was here. Dad and Mathew were to split up and quickly see how long each person had worked there. And since my job was quick, I was to either track the janitor down, or call and tell them I'm helping with the quick interrogation of workers.

"Um, excuse me," I said, trying to get the receptionist's attention.

For the eighth time, I noticed she was different from yesterday's receptionist.

"May I help you," the receptionist finally said, looking up at me.

"Would there happen to be a veteran janitor here?" I asked.

"Oh, you mean Johnathan Smithee? Sorry, kiddo, he's got the day off. Why do you ask?" The receptionist said.

"Oh, um," I stammered.

I had to think of something quick. Who would want to talk to an old janitor? I'm definitely not the manager.. Or the package delivery guy.. Ah, I could claim to be a journalist.

"It's for a school paper that I'm part of. It's a summer assignment, you see. I have to go to the most prominent hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, and interview veteran workers. Well, yesterday, I met a janitor on a visit here, and he said he'd be happy to do the interview and to come back today. The only problem is, I haven't gotten his name." I said and held my breath.

Maybe he was here, and she was just too lazy to ask him to come down.

"Wish I could help you, but I can't. Johnathan isn't here today." The receptionist said.

"Ah, that's okay then. Sorry for the bother. I'll just come back tommorow." I said.

I waved to the receptionist and walked over to the elevator. I pressed the up button and waited for an elevator to come down. After a few minutes, I heard the familiar "ding" sound, signaling the arrival of the elevator. I stepped on and took out my phone to dial Dad and Mathew.

(Conan's point of view)

"Well, that ride was extremely long," Umi said, stretching.

We had just gotten off the bus and arrived at Kinuta Park. I had to agree-Kinuta Park was a lot farther than it looked on a map. I looked up. It was a bright, sunny day outside. We didn't have those all the time. I looked at the ground and then walked inside. Umi stayed a few minutes longer and stared at the ground as well. When she got in, we asked for the security guard. The security guard's nametag read "Makoto Tominaga". I noticed that he had once played tennis, and typed a lot while at work.

(Umi's point of view)

Makoto held out his hand, and I took it. We greeted each other.

"Hey, man, how are you," I asked casually.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Makoto responded.

"Ah, good. I'm physically fine, but mentally exhausted." I answered.

"Oh?" Makoto said, a little surprised.

"Yeah. Work's got me running odd and irregular hours. I figured that the park would be a nice place to relax."

"Yeah. I know how that is." I responded.

I sighed and smiled, looking outside.

"It's a gorgeous day, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think it's one of the best ones we've had this year." Makoto answered.

(Conan's point of view)

I listened to Umi and Makoto talk, confused. Umi seemed like a completely different person. It suddenly hit me and I smiled. Sherlock had done this several times. People don't like talking to detectives or police. It makes them nervous and they clam up. But what was she going to use when he asked why they came in the security building? I listened some more.

"Wasn't it like this last week? I tried to stop by the park, but my pager went off and I had to go." Umi said.

"Yeah, it was also a lot more crowded that day." Makoto answered.

"Yeah, the only vehicle that stood out was a large van or something. Wonder what it was being used for?" Umi said.

"I hear the guy who owns it got it taken right out from under his nose." Makoto told her.

"Seriously? Where?" Umi asked.

"Right over there," Makoto pointed to where we got off the bus.

"Wow. Weren't you watching it?" I asked.

"Well, yeah, but I figured it was the owner," Makoto answered.

"Oh.. Do you have security cameras?" Umi asked.

"Why.. do you ask?" Makoto said, looking scared.

"Oh, I just wanted to see it again. I love cars and stuff, and that van had a lot of probably unused potential." Umi responded.

"Oh." Makoto relaxed again.

"Sure," he said.

"Come on back."

"Would you mind if my little brother came as well? I'm his only family, and I want to point some things out to him. Isn't that right, Cameron?" She said.

Umi looked back at me and gave me a subtle hand gesture saying "just go with it." I smiled and ran over to them.

"Yay! I wanna see big engine!" I said, trying to look excited.

I couldn't believe this. What was this guy, stupid?

(**Mat49324**'s part)

(Ran's P.O.V.)

"Mathew," I said to my best friend.

"You know that janitor you said that was working for 32 years? He's got the day off today.

"Do you think he's sick or something?" Mathew asked me.

"No, if he was, the receptionist would've said so," I answered.

"Good point," Mathew said to me, a little dejected with himself.

"Maybe we should tell your Dad."

"Good idea, and we'll try to find out from him what to do next," I said.

With that said and done, Mathew and I ran to Dad to tell him we couldn't find out anything. While we ran, Mathew leaned in to ask me something different.

"Say, Ran," Mathew said to me.

"What movie in particular did you want to see when we go out?"

"How about Delta Farce?"

"Alright," Mathew said.

"Now focus back on the case," I said to him.

Our date always came second.

"No problem, Ran," Mathew said to me.

"I was just wondering."

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

Minutes later, we found Kogoro and gave him Ran's 411.

(**Umi's part**)

(Kogoro's point of view)

"So, the janitor, knowing we were coming, decided to avoid the great detective, Kogoro Mouri, hm?" I said.

Of course. It all made sense now. The janitor was behind it all! Much like the butler is always behind it. Only this time, there was no butler. Only the janitor. The old janitor.

"Guys," I said proudly.

"Alert Conan and Umi. We are on the lookout for an old janitor."

(Mathew's point of view)

... I think.. Kogoro just lost it. Janitors were everywhere. Espically old janitors. How would we find this one easily? And besides, weren't we already looking for him?

I sighed and looked at Ran, who looked back at me, confused. Kogoro was laughing, probably feeling proud of himself.

"Continue searching the building?" I asked Ran.

"Yes," she said.

We split ways and finished our search of the building, leaving Kogoro behind to keep laughing.

(Conan's point of view)

I watched the survellence camera of the van along with Umi and Makoto. The man getting out of the van had on a green shirt with a brown vest over it. Umi explained some crap about cars to me, and I pretended to be interested while we were waiting for movement from the screen. You know, other than the hundreds of people that passed by on the sidewalk and getting in and out of taxis.

I pointed.

"Ah, look! That man has on a brown vest and a hat!"

"Well, it was bright outside that day," Makoto said.

"he probably had one to keep the sun off his head."

"Oh. Do you sell hats anywhere around here?" Umi asked.

"Hm.. The store across the street sells some kind of hat.. They probably had that particular one." Makoto responded.

"Okay, thanks." I said.

We watched the man get into the van and Umi made a face when the van started to move. She pointed at it and looked at me.

"You know," she said.

"that van had a lot more potential. Maybe if you were to change the tires, it would have better shock absorption, leading to..."

Change the tires... That man had changed the tires! Umi's cell phone rang and she made a face.

"Sorry, we gotta go," she said.

Makoto led us to the door to his office and we went back the way we came.

(Umi's point of view)

Thank... GOD they had called. I answered the phone. It was Ran.

"Oh, hi, Ran. Nice timing. Why aren't you calling Conan's phone?" I asked.

"Oh, he wouldn't answer." Ran simply responded.

I looked at Conan as he fumbled for his phone and turned it on.

"Hang on, here he is." I said, handing the phone to Conan.

"here. Ran wants to talk to you."

(Conan's point of view)

"Hi, Ran-neechan!" I tried greeting her with my childish voice.

"Conan! Do you know how worried I was getting? We tried calling your phone." Ran yelled at me.

I punched in my SIM PIN and looked at the number of missed calls. Fifty-two?!

'_I see that_...'

"O-oh. Sorry. I turned it off because we went to a park to see about the van, and the security man didn't like cell phones."

"I see. Well, next time, don't worry us so much!" Ran said to me.

"Okay, sorry. Anyway, did you want to talk to Umi?" I asked.

"That's okay. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. And to remind you that we're going home at 1900 (7 p.m.), so you should try to be there as well. 2100 (9 p.m.) at the latest." Ran said to me.

"Okay. See you later, then, Ran-nee-chan!" I said as I hung up the phone and handed it back to Umi.

She sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Hey, Conan.." Umi said to me.

"Eh?" I said back to her.

"You wanna just hang out here for awhile and talk about the case or something? It's the most beautiful day I think I've seen since I've arrived to Japan." Umi offered me.

"Eh? When was that?"

Umi grinned.

"Oh, just a few days ago. But I don't feel like taking two or three more bus trips. Just one." She shuddered.

"All those PEOPLE... So, what do you say?"

"Okay." I nodded.

End of chapter.

(Okay, I hope you like this. Umi and I put in a lot of effort to make this chapter, so I better get a lot of reviews and more for Umi's story "Threat Letter"; she put in my character and I gave her my permission to. I hope we get more reviews as they would very much be appreciated, as well as "Jimmy and Rachel Together".)


	8. End of Day 3 of The Case

(Here's chapter 8. We hope you like it, and review it.)

(**Umi's Part**)

(Ran's point of view)

Mathew, dad, and I hadn't gotten a lot done by the time we got home, but at least we looked. Well, at least Mathew and I did, anyways. Mathew was over and I was cooking our supper; all that was left was for Conan and Umi to arrive. I wondered if they had gotten anything done. Mathew came into the kitchen and pointed back to my dad's office.

"He was getting too loud for me. I think he just broke my eardrums." He said to me.

I smiled and looked past to my dad's office. He was probably watching a Yoko Okino tape or something.

"Go, go, Yoko," I heard my dad shouting with enthusiasm.

I handed Mathew a beer and gave him instructions.

"Give this to dad, and tell him it's the last one. He'll probably stop yelling just long enough for the show to end and then go out and buy some more beer." I explained to him.

Mathew looked at me.

"This happens a lot, doesn't it?" He asked.

"All the time." I said, sighing.

"He obviously doesn't want to live until he's 100," Mathew said, sighing too.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, stumped.

"I read somewhere that a man in this country -- Japan, is 111 years old," Mathew answered.

He went to give the beer to dad and I continued making sure nothing burned or anything. I was pretty sure we all had a hard day.

_I wonder how Shinichi is..._ I thought.

(Umi's point of view)

I leaned back on the bus with my notepad out. Conan and I had spent the rest of the day discussing the case. You know, for a kid, he was pretty sharp. Almost made me think that he wasn't really a kid.

"So you're saying that this may be connected to some big robbery from awhile back?" I asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

(Conan's point of view)

I had told her briefly about the billion yen heist and how Akemi Miyano had used an alias to get Kogoro to find the driver in the heist, and how she was afterwards shot. Of course, I didn't know how to tell her about the Syndicate... At least not without revealing my true identity.. But I got a feeling they were connected to it somehow.

"Ah, maybe. But we don't even know what that van was used for."

"How do you know all this," she asked me. Uh...

"O-oh, Doctor Agasa talks about it over the phone a lot."

"With who?"

"Shinichi nii-chan."

"Ah.." We were nearing my stop - AKA the sleeping Kogoro's detective agency.

"Well, you need me to make sure you get inside safely, or will you be okay?" Umi asked.

"Maybe you should come inside, at least for awhile. After all, we don't know what Kogoro, Mathew, and Ran have learned, and I can't remember what all we learned. Not only that, but we need to draw straws again for tommorow." I said to her.

"Oh yeah. Okay then." Umi responded.

The bus came to a stop moments later and we got off. As we were walking up the steps, Kogoro yelled something incomprehensible, opened the door, and dashed right on by us. We went inside, and were greeted by Ran after announcing I was home.

(Umi's point of view)

I clapped my hands once. I didn't.. do very well with people.

"Sooo... How about we just exchange what we learned, pull the straws, and I can go? I don't want to be a bother or anything..." I asked.

"Oh, it's no problem. Supper is almost ready for all of us. Including you, Umi. We can talk it over during supper." Ran said with a smile.

I returned the favor. Only mine wasn't... as.. er.. nice. Conan had went over to the couch and laid down with a Shonen Jump magazine over his face. I did the same on the other couch.. Only, I didn't have a magazine.

(Ran's point of view)

I came out to see what they wanted to drink, but Conan and Umi were asleep. I smiled and walked over to Mathew.

"What would you like as your drink," I asked quietly, not wanting to wake them up.

He looked at me with a questioning look as if to ask why I was talking so quietly. I motioned to the living room thing. Mathew almost laughed.

"How about some water," he said.

"Okay, what's so funny?" I asked him.

"Well, it's funny thinking about their personalities.. and now how they're sleeping." Mathew responded.

"Conan always sleeps like that." I said, not looking too surprised.

"Well--" Mathew was cut off as Dad came back in holding a case of beer high above his head. Before I could say anything, he switched on the T.V. to what I would swear could also be called "blaring mode." Conan lifted the magazine off his face, looked around, and then ignored the T.V. Umi was still asleep. I walked over to the T.V. and switched it off.

"Dad, they're sleeping," I said, upset that he woke Conan.

He gave me an annoyed look and then looked at Conan and Umi. Actually, I would have to wake them up soon, anyways. Supper was ready.

(Kogoro's point of view)

I glared at the two sleeping freeloaders in my agency/house. They do nothing to earn anything around here, and they take away _my_ Yoko Okino time? I stood up and walked over to them.

"Dad? Dad, wait!" Ran said, trying to keep me back.

She would have to wake them up for supper anyways. I might as well get it over with. I yelled at them both, and then hit them on the head.

(Umi's point of view)

"GAH! OW!" I screamed, grimacing from the hit to my noggin.

I had fallen on the floor and felt pain.. Pain.. Overwhelming pain in my cerebral area. Where the hell was I anyways? I looked around. Oh, right-- the case. So much for dreams of Leon, Squall, Zero, and other video game characters.

"Well, next time, you'll know better than to sleep on MY couch." A grumbling voice brought me back to reality... Again.

"Hey! I don't sleep that often, and today was probably one of the longest days of my life!" I said, disgusted with Kogoro.

"And the end of my unusually long day has been ruined thanks to you," Kogoro snapped back.

I jumped to my feet and raised a fist.

"You wanna take this outside?" I asked with a look of determination on my face.

"I have a policy of not hitting women," Kogoro grumbled, probably wishing he had never made that self promise.

(Quick a/n: This is true, and it comes out in several cases, if I'm not mistaken, as well as the 9th movie.)

Note to self: From now on, take the advice of my family and think before I speak. Or act.

"Supper's ready," We heard Ran's voice say.

Ran interrupted the would-be fight -- thank goodness!!

(Ran's point of view)

I was kind of listening to their conversation, and got lost in which one I thought had the right to be angry. Oh well. As long as there's no fighting.

(**Mat49324's part**)

(still Ran's P.O.V.)

After getting the whole group together for supper, we put the case on hold and continued to eat to our heart's content.

"This is good, Ran," Mathew said to me.

"Told ya she was a good cook," Conan said.

I saw a smug look on his face.

"Cut it out, Conan! I'm not _that_ great!!" I said.

What he said was true -- I was a pretty awesome cook. Suddenly, I remembered something: when we went to swim last night, only Conan, Mathew and me went; Umi stayed behind. For the first time in awhile, I wanted to find out why she didn't go.

"Say, Umi," I said as I finished my supper.

"You know last night when Mathew, Conan and I went swimming, why didn't you want to come with us?" I asked.

"Yeah," Mathew added.

"Don't you like to swim?" Conan asked her.

(Umi's P.O.V.)

"Er..." I stammered.

A million excuses ran through my head at once. I picked the most plausible and the one I could lie with the easiest.

"When I was a kid, I almost drowned in a lake." I finally responded.

It was partially true.

"My friend and I tipped a canoe about five feet, at most, away from the shore.." I explained.

That meant it was extremely shallow. The funny thing was, they looked at me with this "uh.. okay" kind of look and then went back to eating their food. Honestly, though, I just felt awkward wearing a bathing suit of any kind. That's when I heard Kogoro assume something.

"If you ask me, I think this girl is afraid to wear a bathing suit," Kogoro assumed.

"Am not," I retorted, even if he was right.

"Dad, that's enough," I heard Ran say to Kogoro.

(Ran's P.O.V.)

"Umi," I said to her, smiling.

"Almost drowning in a lake is a good reason, but you can't let it haunt you for a long time; Mathew never went to a beach for 11 years until last summer when he went with a friend of his."

"Really?" Umi asked Mathew.

"What she said is true," Mathew responded.

"I told her that's why."

(Mathew's P.O.V.)

When all of us finished our food, Ran went to wash the dishes and I offered to help dry them.

"That's sweet of you, Mathew," Ran said to me, smiling.

I thought about asking her about when we should get together for our date when the case was finished.

"Say, Ran," I said to her after drying a plate.

"So, what time did you want to get together for our date when this case is done? I'm just curious to know."

(**Umi's Part**)

(Ran's point of view)

"Hm.. I was thinking maybe around 6-ish?" I suggested.

"Okay, that sounds great," Mathew said.

We had established a time, which was good. Too bad there was no set date, due to the case and it's longevity. I held out my pinky.

"Promise?" I asked my best friend.

Shinichi and I promised maybe once or twice using the pinky system. Mathew looked at me and my pinky and then smiled and we linked pinkies.

"Promise," he said.

We smiled at each other and then finished the dishes.

(Conan's point of view)

We had told Mathew and Ran everything on our side of the case. Kogoro was just.. there. In his drunken state, where he wouldn't be able to comprehend any kind of case, unless it was a case of beer. Now, we were just waiting for them to return so they could tell us about their side, and so we could draw straws.

So, in order to kill time, I decided to go ahead and get my homework out of the way.. I can't believe I had to do this stuff again.. While I did 1st grade math, Umi decided to play my mantendo system. I have yet to figure out if her beating my high scores is good or bad.. I shrugged and decided that I just had more of a life, and finished my math, moving on to science. I was halfway through by the time Ran and Mathew came back. We waited for three minutes before someone decided to drag Umi away.

"Okay," Mathew said after Umi sat down and stopped complaining about the last boss or something.

"We know what you guys got.. Now it's our turn."

"We pretty much didn't find much out. But we did find that the janitor's name is Johnathan Smithee. He had today off. But maybe he'll be there tommorow."

"Johnathan Smithee, huh? Sounds foreign. Hey, Kogoro, did the guy seem foreign?" Umi was asking Kogoro, or rather, trying.

He was drunk as a guy could get, and babbling on to himself. Honestly, it was stupidly amusing. Until she started threatening him within an inch of his life. Thankfully, Ran got in the way and we resumed talking about the case. Apparently, Umi had never been around a drunk before. Not much else was said, save for the case, and no more confrontations were held.

"Welp, I should get going," Umi said, looking at her watch.

"Ah, wait! We should draw straws. Hold on, I'll go get them." Ran said, running off and coming back with eight straws.

She held them up via aluminum foil over a black-covered jar. We each drew. Ran drew twice -- once for her, and once for her dad.

"Okay, then, the van-ers are Kogoro and Conan. Everyone else is off to the hotel to find out some more about this guy," Mathew announced, looking at the straws we drew.

I sighed. Kogoro saw me as just a pest. At least Ran, Mathew, and Umi would listen to me. Umi and Mathew left, and Ran shooed me off to bed. I figured Kogoro would find his way to his room, or just collapse. Ran must have thought so as well, because she told me good night and went off to her room.

I laid back on the floor and looked at the ceiling. What the hell was up with that hotel?

End of chapter.

(Okay, that's going to wrap up another chapter. Oh, and be sure to check out **Umi Sagara**'s deviantArt profile page -- she'll be uploading pics she drew of my "Unexpected Fears" fic. We'll try to update as soon as possible.)


	9. The 4th Day of the Case

(**Umi's Part**)

(Ran's point of view)

We met in front of the downstairs cafÈ for the 4th day in a row. Once again, I had to wake dad and Conan up, but that was okay. Today, we were going to get closer in finding the auto thief. I could feel it. I waved to Umi and Mathew as they were coming over.

"Good morning," I greeted them.

Mathew smiled and waved back, and told me morning. Umi came over and looked at everyone with a tired look.

"Bruh." She uttered.

"You seem tired. Are you okay?" I asked.

"Bruh." Umi said again.

I smiled awkwardly. I suppose it was kind of like talking to a brick wall.

"Are you going to be okay for the case?" I asked.

"Oh yeah! I have informationables!" Umi responded, waking up and taking out her notebook.

She flipped to about the eighth page and held it up for us to read.

(Conan's point of view)

Well… that was… fast. I looked at the notebook Umi had. It was.. all chicken scratch. Like she read my mind, and probably mine and everyone else's expressions, she translated.

"You know that Johnathan Smithee guy? Turns out this guy's pretty connected in some pretty good places. I even got a sketch of him, and he does look foreign, like I thought." She explained.

Umi dug though her pockets again and pulled out a pretty good sketch of the Smithee guy. Since it was a black and white sketch, Johnathan had no color. However, he had unkempt hair and a little goatee. He looked to be in his mid-to-late forties.

"When exactly did you get this," I asked just to be sure.

"Last night. On my way 'home,' I discovered I wasn't really tired, so I decided to head on over into town and try investigating this guy. I tried all the bars first, since that's usually a warehouse of information if you can do things right. He does work at the hotel, but it's part-time, and it turns out, he doesn't usually show up anyways. Maybe once a week."

Mathew took the notebook and the photo, and Umi conjured up four more sketches, where she handed everyone one.

"I prepared copies." I said.

Mathew kept looking at the notebook and took his sketch silently.

"Hey," he started to say.

We all looked at him.

"Maybe we ought to split up into three groups.. One person can keep looking at the hotel, unless we get another person, and the other two can start looking for Smithee. What do you guys think?" He said to us.

"I think it's a good idea," Ran said with a smile.

"And we could get Sonoko to be the sixth person."

_Oh, yeah, that airhead,_ I thought.

(Ran's point of view)

We all agreed that it should be three parties. Umi said she'd check out the hotel, since Sonoko wasn't up yet. She said she didn't mind doing it alone. We waited for the first bus to arrive, and wished Umi good luck.

"Where should we start looking first," I asked Mathew.

He looked at his notepad and a hand-drawn mini map. He looked thoughtful.

"How about here," he asked, pointing to Kinuta Park.

I nodded. Maybe we could pick up some things Conan and Umi hadn't picked up yet. He must have thought so as well. We got off the bus and looked around. It was still fairly early, and there were some clouds in the sky, so not many people were around. We decided to see if anyone was there.

"After this, maybe we should check out the owner of the van.. He might have something to say about it," I suggested.

Mathew looked at me and nodded.

"Sure thing, Ran," he said with a smile.

We reached the security building and looked inside. There were no lights. We decided to wait for about another hour before he showed up. Maybe he was just late..?

(Mathew's point of view)

Why wasn't the security guard there? He should have been there by now. After all, it was a little after 7 A.M…. He should have been here by now. And even if he wasn't, someone else should have been. Perhaps they had just changed shifts..? Nonetheless, we decided to stick around for awhile longer. Ran suggested we enjoy the quiet morning while it lasted. So, to kill time, we walked around the park, and even swung on the swings for awhile. After an hour had passed, we decided that that was enough, and decided to go in, at least to the main desk.  
We made our way back to the security office. The lights were still out, so we tried the front door. It was unlocked, so we went in.

"Hello," we shouted, in case the guard was sleeping.

Ran went behind the desk and stared in shock for a few seconds before screaming. I ran to her.

"Ran, what is it?!" I asked her.

I didn't want to hear the answer, and hoped it was just a colony of mice. She backed away and kept pointing. The body of a mangled officer was shoved under the desk. After quickly catching myself before Ran could see, my detective instincts took over.

"Ran, call the police," I said, putting my gloves on.

"Also call Kogoro, Conan, Sonoko, and Umi," I added as an afterthought.

I looked around for a camera, and found one in the security office. While Ran was dialing numbers on her cell phone, I was taking photos of the crime scene for the officers when they arrived. While taking pictures, one thing caught my eye especially. A pair of dice were on the middle of the desk, in the middle of a cleared off space. What was odd about the dice was they both black ravens instead of the normal little dots.. And it was a snake eyes roll.. I snapped a picture of the dice just in case. As soon as I finished with the pictures of the dice, Meguire and the police came in the small office doors.

(Ran's point of view)

Was this all connected to the stolen van? That poor security guard.. He probably didn't know what hit him. I felt shocked. Even with all the dead bodies my dad, Shinichi, and Mathew saw and solved, I still wasn't used to it. I waited outside for the police and my dad, Conan, Sonoko, and Umi to arrive. The police arrived about ten minutes after I made the call. I politely stepped aside and let them enter. My dad and Conan arrived before Sonoko and Umi, which would make sense, seeing as they were closer. After Sonoko and Umi arrived, I finally went back inside with everyone. By then, Mathew, dad, and Conan were inspecting everything, and Umi joined them. Sonoko stayed with me and we eventually went to go sit outside.

"When did you get to the hotel," I asked.

"A few minutes before you called. But on the way here, Umi filled me in on everything. Sort of."

"Sort of?" I asked again.

Sonoko shrugged.

"What can I say? I got a bit sidetracked," she said.

I smiled. If there was one thing that would never change, it was probably Sonoko. Sidetracked by a boy, I'll bet.

(Umi's point of view)

I was examining the light switch when I realized something.

"Mathew," I said, kind of curious. He looked up from what he was examining.

"Hm?" I said, realizing something.

"That's odd.. I don't smell that much blood.. But from the looks of the body, he should have bled more than he did… Do you think that maybe… He wasn't killed in here?" I asked.

Mathew nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought when I realized it, too. Although, where would he have been killed? And why go to the trouble of bringing him back here?" He continued.

I mulled it over.

"Do you think the door was locked when the guard was murdered, and the guard didn't even come it? Or maybe he came in…." I asked.

I went over to the door and looked at the outside handle. It was scratched around the keyhole, but not by much. Meguire seemed to notice me for the first time and was walking over. I had heard a lot about him from.. well.. the internet. And a bit from Conan.

"What are you kids doing here," he asked us.

"Uh… Investigating?" I asked.

"Sorry, this is our precinct. You guys are going to have to wait awhile before we can allow anyone else in here."

(Conan's point of view)

This had to be because of the black dice. Meguire had mentioned it to be before, right before I became Conan. Something about a crime organization or an assassin that leaves raven, snake eyes dice at the scene of the crime. It was supposed to be completely top secret.  
Needless to say, though, Meguire had never kicked me off a case before.. Then again, he never did know that Conan Edogawa is the same as Shinichi Kudo. We would have to leave though.. Maybe we could find some more clues elsewhere.

(**Mat49324**'s part)

(Ran's P.O.V.)

All I could do while Dad, Mathew, and Umi took care of all the detective work was wait. There was no question that the security guard was dead, but the question was... who?

"Who could've done something so horrific?" I asked Sonoko.

"You got me," Sonoko responded.

(Kogoro's P.O.V.)

Geez, a murder on a case that I thought was a hoax at one time. What messed with my head a little was when Ran said she was going out on a date with Mathew once this case was done. For once I wanted this case to last forever so they couldn't go on that date, but I only thought that once.

"Inspector, shouldn't you be looking for suspects?" I asked.

"What's the rush, Mori?" Meguire asked me.

"There's no point," I heard Mathew say.

"What makes you say that... rookie?" I snapped.

"Before you go AWOL on me, Detective," Mathew said to me.

"The security guard's been dead for like about an hour... right, Inspector?"

"I'd say this 'rookie' is onto something, Kogoro," Meguire agreed.

"The suspects... if any, are all in isolated places; it'd take us a long time for us to find them," Mathew continued.

"He's got a point," Inspector Meguire said.

(**Umi's Part**)

(Mathew's point of view)

I looked at Kogoro and almost grinned. I knew he hated me, and almost anyone else interfering with his "work." But instead, I looked at Inspector Meguire and waited to see what he said.

"Sorry you two," Meguire said after a few moments of thought.

"but this case is strictly off-limits to outsiders."

"Ho ho ho, that's right. Now, the rest of you all go out and play in the sandbox or something," Kogoro said to us, waving his hand.

Meguire looked at him like he was an idiot.. Which he was.

"Mouri, I mean you too. If we need you, we'll call."

"Ah! But.. but.. You can't mean that," Kogoro protested, looking crestfallen.

"Ah.. You guys can see if there's anything about these dice. I have detailed pictures of all sides for you guys, okay?" Meguire told us.

He pulled out some photos and handed a copy to Kogoro, one to me, and one to Umi. Conan looked up, probably hoping to get one.

"Sorry, Conan, but I don't have a copy for you. Good luck with that," he said, waving us away.

We went outside and gathered, where Ran and Sonoko joined us.

(Ran's point of view)

Sonoko talked about this guy on some train for the entire time they were gone. When they came out, I thought they had figured it out. Apparently not, though, after seeing their faces. Mathew and Conan filled me in, while Dad lit a cigarette and Umi either daydreamed or thought.

"Apparently, this case has to do with a dangerous organization, so they said we can't help," Mathew told me.

"They leave a pair of dice as their calling cards," Conan added, taking Mathew's camera and showing me the pictures he took.

"But, one thing is foggier than the rest, and that's-"

"-The motive." Umi cut into Mathew's statement.

"The guy was just a simple security guard. But that's only if you look at the skim of things. What if.." Umi started to say, but stopped there.

She seemed to have a habit of stopping in the middle of her sentences.

"He was really part of an underground organization, possibly the same organization, or another," Conan said to finish her sentence.

Umi just nodded.

"But the janitor could also just be an ordinary guy in the wrong place at the wrong time," Mathew said.

"Because of the van," Umi muttered.

It was getting to a point as to where I almost laughed. Those three seemed to be on the exact same page, reading the same lines.

(Mathew's point of view)

With more trails to look for, there were more and more questions, and different places to search. As much as I used to love the "Scooby Doo" show, I hated to sound like Fred and say we have to split up.

"Well, I think it's safe to say we don't need to stalk the hotel," Umi said.

"instead, we need someone to check out everything on Makoto, we need someone to keep working on the van, one person to find Johnathan Smithee, and one more to find the owner of the van," Umi said, counting on her fingers.

Okay, less.. cliché than mine, but it worked. I nodded.

"Yeah. That means we need 4 groups. There are six of us.. That means that two 'teams' will have two people." I said to the group.

"Let's see... Investigating Makoto and working on the van are probably going to require another person than the other two," Conan said absent-mindedly.

At this point, I figured Kogoro was probably getting sick of the three of us being on the same page, and him being.. well…. Lost.

"Let's let Kogoro pick who's on what teams, then," I said feeling sort of sorry for him.

"Hmph. Ran will come with me and we'll investigate the van. Umi and Mathew will go investigate Makoto.. Sonoko and Conan need to go find the owner of the van," Kogoro said, lighting his cigarette.

"Um, dad? What about Johnathan Smithee?" Ran asked.

"We've spent too much time on looking for him. We won't look for him until tomorrow."

I thought about if for a few moments. What he said… actually made sense.. Much unlike the nonsense he was usually spewing off.

"He… has a point," Umi said, pointing at him and looking at Conan and I after a few moments of silence.

"OF COURSE I HAVE A POINT," Kogoro yelled at her.

She winced and sighed.

"Well, this is the last push," she said.

I agreed. I could feel we're so close to the answer.

End of chapter

(Alright, any favorite parts from you? Sorry for the long wait. Umi started school and we haven't been updating this story lately. But we should be if we're lucky. Be sure to leave reviews for this chapter.)


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